


Welcome to Park Avenue

by CrystalVolcheck



Series: Park Avenue [1]
Category: Penguins of Madagascar
Genre: Gen, Humanized, Multi, hinted Kico, hinted Skilene, not a shipping fic, the penguins are psychotic, there is an actual plot that doesn't revolve around characters falling in love or sleeping together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-18
Updated: 2013-09-17
Packaged: 2017-12-26 22:18:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/970928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalVolcheck/pseuds/CrystalVolcheck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Starting a new life in New York at 27 meant it was time for Marlene Stevens to let loose and add excitement to her life. Only after meeting the mysterious Penguins, it's not the type of excitement she had in mind and now she has to stay on her toes if she wants to find out the truth behind the men in black and white.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to Park Avenue

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired to write this as I was working on my first humanized tPoM story, Operation: Poisoned Heart which is still over on my fanfiction.net account. So I like to consider this story to be part of that universe or at least very closely related. Which means you do not have to go read that fic to understand this one, but I highly recommend checking it out.
> 
> On another note, I want to apologize now for butchering New York, I've lived in rural northeast Ohio my entire life, the closest big city to me is Cleveland. I'm just using artistic license when dealing with anything New York. This applied for every story in the Park Avenue series.
> 
> Also, there are hints of slash, but it's one-sided Rico/Kowalski, certainly not enough to cause any problems. The main focus is on Marlene and her learning about what the Penguins actually are.

**Chapter 1:**

**Welcome to Park Avenue**

_"Well, I think I'm gonna go ahead and risk it, but I do appreciate your raging paranoia." - Marlene 'The Hidden'_

Moving from northern California to New York had gone a lot smoother than Marlene Stevens could have ever suspected. After accepting her new job as a curator for a new gallery near Midtown, she immediately called a few realtors, hoping that one would understand her concerns about living in New York. Thankfully, she had gotten Roger Wright, who was originally from Tampa, Florida and while he sung show tunes a little too often and a little too loud, she was more than pleased when he showed her a top floor studio apartment on Park Avenue. Which he swore was the safest area in the entire state of New York thanks to the men who lived in the large apartment just across the street from her.

When asked about the neighborhood entirely, Roger simply told her that it quite welcoming. The only drawback that he could see was a nightclub called The Groove just a half block away from her. According to Roger a man who claimed to be a prince from Madagascar and threw wild parties almost every other night, owned the club and the three other lots surrounding it. Which Marlene was perfectly fine with, in California she had never gone out to enjoy the nightlife, and at 27 it was about time she let loose and added excitement to her life.

Only after living on Park Avenue for a week, she had yet to do just that. Work had gotten the best of her and it seemed any time she was home and just starting to unpack one of her new neighbors would drop by. Roger was certainly right about Park Avenue being welcoming, so far she had met Phil and his half-brother Mason who shared an interesting story of how after growing up in England he ended up in New York taking care of Phil whom he didn't learn was his brother until their shared mother passed on.

Others included two men built like gorillas who insisted on being called Bada and Bing (she suspected they were part of the mob or at least had mob connections), Joey an Aussie with major anger issues, and Burt who was a gentle giant with a passion for art. As well as her neighbors who lived on the floors below her, like Melody Jones and her five kids, Shelly whom she had only met once or twice in passing.

Then there was Julian who had made quite the impression.

_Just as the front door of the building shut, a heavily accented voice reached her ears. "Well hello there, gorgeous. I haven't been seeing your face around here before."_

_"Ah!" Marlene jumped nearly dropping her keys as she came face to face with a tall, dark skinned man with obviously bleached blond hair that fell to his chin. He wasn't necessarily bad looking, but the small touches of gold eyeliner and jewelry added to his feminine appearance. The word drag queen came to her mind as he flipped his hair and placed a hand on his hip._

_"Sorry about that Miss, he was never taught any manners." a much shorter and older man(judging by his salt and pepper hair) on the heavy side came running up the sidewalk followed by a young kid who looked to only be around 10 or 11 years old, if that. "I'm Maurice, co-owner of The Groove and this charming fellow is my nephew, Julian, owner of The Groove."_

_"And I'm Mort! King Julian's most loyal subject!" the kid now known as Mort piped up and while Marlene thought the statement went beyond creepy, Mort was possibly the cutest kid she had ever seen._

_"Excuse Mort, he's actually Julian's nephew." Maurice was quick to explain glaring at Julian who merely rolled his eyes in return._

_"It's fine, kids just seem to have the most active imaginations. I'm Marlene Stevens, just moved in to the area earlier this week." She put on her brightest smile and offered her hand; Maurice gave a firm shake while Julian simply scoffed turning away and leaving._

_"I do not shake hands with commoners; come on Maurice, this conversation is boring me._   _I only wanted to borrow the Penguins' blender."_

_"The penguins?" Marlene couldn't help but ask, earning a surprised look from the two older men._

_Maurice looked over at Julian. "They must have been gone all week then, I told you I saw them leave Sunday." He then turned his attention back to Marlene, "Most people meet the Penguins on the first day they move in and a good number of them move out the next day." Though Maurice had intended for it to be a joke, Marlene couldn't help but think there was a bit of truth behind it._

_"I was told this was a trouble free neighborhood."_

_"Just who told you that if you don't mind me asking."_

_"Roger Wright, my realtor for the area."_

_"Of course Roger would tell you that, the Penguins have saved his tail enough times." Maurice stopped noticing that Marlene was starting to look a bit scared. "Look, I'm not going to say the Penguins are harmless-"_

_"They're complete wackos actually." Julian added his two cents looking somehow bored and smug at the same time._

_"What?!" For a second Marlene couldn't believe that she had been the one to shout her voice several octaves higher than normal. She began to panic, heart pounding in her chest and nearly missed Maurice scolding Julian._

_"Julian! You shouldn't say things like that, just because they keep to themselves doesn't mean they're crazy. Look Marlene, the Penguins are different, from what I figure they're in some nasty business. But they really seem to be good guys, they prevent more trouble than they actually cause."_

_"What kind of nasty business though? And why do you keep calling them penguins?"_

_"My best guess is mob, but no one could say for sure. As for calling them the Penguins-"_

_"Oh sweet Sky Spirits, the fishy smell! How it insults my royal nose."_

_"Ignore him, every few weeks in the summer the Penguins grill fish on the roof and if the wind is just right you can smell it throughout half the neighborhood. As for the name, all of them have black hair and blue eyes, and wear only black and white. It is very rare to see them in anything else, although once I saw two of them at a sushi bar, almost didn't realize it was them at first and if it wasn't for the one's scars I probably would have missed them completely." The thought that those had to be some serious scars if they were easy to spot and very distinct didn't escape her mind. She wanted to ask, but Julian ended the conversation in a way that made her want to punch him in the face._

_"Maurice! We've been here long enough; it is time for my pedicure." The glitzed out man turned heel and left, Mort practically skipping behind him while Maurice let out a long-suffering sigh._

_"Sorry Marlene, it was nice to meet you, please feel free to drop by the club. Your first drink will be on us."_

Marlene laughed at the memory now, especially as she recalled Maurice's frantic apologies for Julian's behavior later that night. However, she was finding herself looking over at the apartment across from her more often than not. There still had not been any sign of the mysterious Penguins and asking around the neighborhood only brought mixed responses.

It wasn't until she was coming back from the park three days later and heard rather loud shouting from an unfamiliar voice that she met the group.

"Damn it Ringtail! You couldn't even wait an hour after we got back to start pissing me off?!" She jogged to the corner and saw four very tired and beaten down men glaring at Julian who was blocking the door to the apartment.

"But Skipper, I am in need of your blender! You cannot deny your King his demands!"

"I can and I will, my men have been on mission to hell itself and back to keep your ass safe." The shortest man now identified as Skipper snapped stepping forward and grabbing Julian by the collar of his shirt and pulling him down to eye level. "You should be grateful."

Although she would only see their backs she had to cover her mouth in horror, blood and ash was caked to their skin and clothes. It really looked like they had been to hell and back. Then she noticed the tallest of the four was leaning into the side of the second tallest who had to be the scarred man Maurice had mentioned when they first met. A splotchy uneven red scar covered his left shoulder and wrapped around to his back, it looked like it was from a third degree burn. She trailed her eyes over that same arm which wrapped about the taller man's waist as if to keep him steady and noticed two things. One the man was very well built and two there were even more scars, but from a knife it seemed.

"Oh, was it a secret mission? Tell me all the gritty details."

"That's classified, just like everything we do is classified." Skipper spoke again, letting go of Julian's collar.

"But I am King; nothing is classified to the King."

"If I may point out Skipper, if Julian hasn't gotten it through his thick skull what classified means after the 347th time you've told him, then he never will." The tallest man now spoke or at least, Marlene figured it was the tallest who spoke.

"You're right Kowalski. All right since Julian doesn't have the brains, maybe a little brawn will help make the connection. Rico remove his majesty from our door, lethal force highly recommended and encouraged." The scarred man who Marlene figured was Rico removed his arm from around the tallest or as Marlene figured Kowalski, who simply hobbled over to the side of the building to lean, watching with a smirk as Rico stepped towards Julian with a knife in hand.

"Skippa! Is this really necessary?" The fourth man ran forward in protest. Marlene had hardly noticed him and felt her stomach twist in fear and disgust. The 'man' looked like a kid, too young to be involved with whatever was going on. He was only a bit taller than Skipper was and had a wiry build. Even Kowalski seemed to have more muscle than the kid did and from what Marlene could see, he was tall and thin enough to be a living relative of Jack Skellington.

"Of course Private, Rico's hasn't killed anyone in a while; don't want him to get rusty."

"What the hell is going on?" Marlene hadn't even realized she had shouted until there were five pair of eyes staring at her, four blue and one amber.

"Oh hey Marlene!" Julian gave a wave as if this was all perfectly normal and she took that as her cue to run to her apartment. None of that was normal; there was no planet in the universe where that would be normal. She didn't stop running until she had to unlock her apartment door and once inside she ran to the window to see if any of them had followed her. Thankfully, the street was empty, but she couldn't help but still feel terrified. The sight of the four men covered in ash and blood, scarred and bruised, pulling knives out of nowhere, and making death threats as if they were just another way of saying hello would leave her mind.

That wasn't mob, she didn't know what it was, but it wasn't mob. Although it really did look like nasty business and that poor kid, he barely looked like he was 18 and was just as beaten as the others were.

Marlene curled up in her favorite chair, shaking. Maybe she had just heard wrong, maybe he had just gone crazy. Yeah that had to be it; there was just something in the water causing her to lose her mind. It wasn't until there was a knock at the door that she had realized she had fallen asleep.

"Just a minute!" She straightened herself quickly, but there really wasn't a point to do so, hopefully a bright smile would make up for her flustered appearance. Only after opening the door, her smile fell and her blood began to run cold.

"Ello, I would have brought the others but K'walski was put on bed rest and if Kowalski's on bed rest Rico stays with him, then of course Skippa had to deal with Julian. Oh just where are my manners, I'm James, but everyone calls me Private. I really must apologize for the fright we gave you earlier; it's been a long week." James or rather Private presented her with a large bouquet of wild flowers. It was hard to believe the kid in front of her was the same one who had been covered in ash and blood splatter earlier. In fact, Private seemed harmless, all bright blue eyes and messy black hair, the British accent was rather adorable and only made him seem younger. A small laugh escaped her when she noticed he was wearing black cargo pants and a white t-shirt that read 'NEVER SWIM ALONE' across the chest with a small carton penguin just underneath it.

"They're beautiful, thank you."

"Again, really sorry about earlier, Skippa can get a tad extreme at times, but he'd never actually hurt Julian. He's a nice man when you get to know him, Skippa I mean, not Julian, those he's not too terrible. We'd really like to make it up to you; in fact, we're going to have a cookout Sunday. It'd be lovely if you'd join us."

"Geez, I really don't know about that…you guys just got back and I never know if work is going to call me in…" Marlene froze, seeing how hurt Private looked, sky blue eyes impossibly large and his bottom lip stuck out ever so slightly. "But I should be able to stop by for a bit." It was as if someone hit a switch and Private as all smiles again, looking like he was about to burst with joy.

"That's great Marlene! Well I better get going, its lights out at 10, I'll see you Sunday!" Marlene returned Private's wave good-bye as he walked down the hall, the second he was around the corner she slammed her door shut and locked it.

"Okay, Marlene, there's no reason to panic. Sunday is still two days away, something will come up and you can cancel." She looked at the bouquet in her hands, she had nearly forgotten about it in her panic. The look on Private's face when she had said she wouldn't be able to make it had been heartbreaking, she couldn't imagine what would happen if she canceled now. "This is ridiculous; they can't be as bad as everyone says. I bet they are perfectly normal and have perfectly normal explanations for what everyone says about them. And now I'm talking to myself, which isn't so normal." She sighed pulling a vase out from under the sink; hopefully she could bury herself in work the next two days. After all work always seemed to make time crawl.


	2. Dinner with the Penguins

_"Here's a little something that I try to keep to my heart: Try looking for the best in people, cause you'll always find it. Huh?" - Marlene 'Roomies'_

Only this time the two days flew by and before Marlene realized it, Sunday had come; it was around 2 in the afternoon when she opened her drapes and saw 2 silhouettes on the roof across from her. It was now or never, but since she had always been one to procrastinate a long shower would be an excellent delay.

An hour later Marlene found herself standing at the front door of the Penguin's apartment, she rang the bell twice. and then continued to pull at the hem of her chestnut brown t-shirt. After accepting the invitation made a quick call to Roger as well as a bit of her research, she had been surprised to learn that the entire building was owned by some anonymous organization and the four men were the only occupants, nothing like the other apartments. Although to be fair most of the buildings on Park Avenue had been remodeled so that each floor was one apartment, maybe each of the men had their own floor.

"Ello Marlene, come on in, I'll give you the grand tour." Private's smile was contagious and Marlene couldn't help her own grin as the Brit led her in, the door shutting behind them automatically. It would have freaked her out, but she was too caught up at the sight before her. The first floor looked to be a giant rec room, with the exception of an open doorway, which she heard Private say was a small kitchen.

"Oh my goodness this is absolutely lovely." There was a dining table and four chairs off set in the far right of the room not too far from the kitchen were the main stairs on the opposite side of the dining area. A large flat screen television and cream couch seemed to be the focus on the far wall, while several shelves covered in books and movies as well as a ship in a bottle or two filled in most of the wall space. There was a door on the left side of the room, between the stairs and the television, Marlene wondered if that may have been a bathroom. Everything was spotless , certainly not what she expected from for men living together.

"Eh, it gets the job done, who's your new friend Private?" a rough voice she recognized as Skipper's sounded from the stairs caused her to jump.

"Sorry, sir, this is Marlene Stevens, our new neighbor, the one you terrified a few days ago."

"Marlene, huh? I suppose I owe you an apology for Thursday."

"An apology is one thing; I think you owe me an explanation."

"Well aren't you a firecracker. I'm Captain Davis, known as Skipper to friends and enemies alike and just to be clear you could still be categorized as either one."

"Captain? As in like Navy or Air Force?"

"Try Marines." Marlene's mind froze, that's what everyone was afraid of? A bunch of military jarheads? Although there was still something off putting about the whole situation, especially the way Skipper had smirked, as if he was only telling a half-truth.

"I don't know much about Marines or military in general, but I don't think they dress like that or have mini bases set up in the middle of New York." She noted the black cargo pants tucked into combat boots and white t-shirts the two were wearing.

"I see you're more than just a pretty face, but I can't disclose our operations, just that we are under military that it goes a little deeper than Marines, although that is my official rank on paper." A heavy silence fell over them as dark sapphire eyes met her hazel ones in a silence challenge, daring her to keep digging and guaranteeing that she wouldn't like what she found. Private cleared his throat nervously, breaking the growing tension.

"Um, Skippa perhaps I could finish giving Marlene the tour of HQ?"

"Of course Private, as long as it's the civilian tour you're giving her, by the time you get finished Rico should be starting the sushi. I hope you like seafood." The last bit was directed at Marlene and she suddenly wanted to punch the cocky smile he had off his face.

"Sorry, about Skippa, but believe it or not this is him in a good mood. Now this is our general living area, but you've probably figured that out already." Private gestured for her to follow him up the stairs; the second floor was a long hall that lead to another set of stairs with a door right next to them and two doors on each side of the hallway.

"That's a frightening thought; I'd hate to see him on a bad day, unless Thursday was a bad day for him."

"Thursday was a long day for him. The first door on the left is Skippa's room, opposite is K'walski's room. Second door next to Skippa's is my room and the one across next to K'walski's is Rico's room. While the door next to the stairs is the bathroom."

"Wow, so you all sleep on the same floor?"

"Our credo is Never Swim Alone, so it works just fine. Although we had to switch rooms a few years back, since it's really only one large room on each side with a divider wall, Rico's snoring was keeping Skippa up and I was too afraid to share a room with either Rico or K'walski." The statement didn't surprise her, Private seemed to be the sensitive type and it was hard to imagine that the others had that in common with the young Brit.

"So are all you Marines?"

"Of course, my rank is Private First Class, K'walski is Lieutenant, and Rico is Gunnery Sergeant. Here's our training room." The third was even more open than the first, with the stairs just off to the left. One corner was clear except for a thick training mat, and on the opposite sat various exercise equipment. Marlene didn't even get to see the rest of the room before Private was moving up the stairs. "This last floor is mostly Rico's studio and K'walski's storage."

"Studio? Why..." The question died on Marlene's lips as she saw the large canvases leading against walls covered in tarps or plastic. There were several easels set up; some with blank canvases and others still works in progress. A table sat not too far from the easels where a small stereo rested, surrounded by paint tubes and brushes. It was hard to wrap her mind around the idea that the burly man she had seen go after Julian with a knife was an artist. Through it was a rather small studio and an open one at that, there really was no privacy, and the only door was the one between the stairs they had just come up and the stairs that led to the roof. That has to be the storage area Private mentioned on the way up and she was a bit curious as to why there was a keypad entry for the door.

"I really wish I could give you a proper tour, but orders are orders." Private's voice caught her attention and she blinked shocked to see he was already half-way up the stairs.

"I'm honestly surprised you showed me this much, the whole neighborhood says you keep to yourselves."

"We generally do, in our line of work its best not to get attached or at least that's what Skippa has told me, but I know that you just can't shut off your emotions and walk away from people who you've helped and have helped you."

"That's a really wise thing to say, Private."

"I learned it from the Lunacorns." Without any explanation as to what the Lunacorns were, Private opened the door and Marlene gasped at the sight before her. They had a swimming pool on the roof!

"I'm just saying, if you reverse the polarity of the lithium core it is possible-"A laugh escaped Private drawing her attention from the pool to the bar where the other two men were sitting. She had looked over just in time to see Rico stuff what looked like a sushi roll in to Kowalski's open mouth shutting the man up.

"No science, company." Marlene suddenly felt nervous, Rico looked just as intimidating as he did the first time she had saw him. The white tank top he wore revealed not only well-toned muscles but even more scars, although they looked to be rather old, the one that ran down the side of his face and continued down to his neck was still horrifying. As she drew closer, she noticed the teal streaks through his mohawk as well as the piercings going down the cartilage of his right ear.

"We really need to work on your manners, Rico. Sorry about him, he can be quite the charmer when he wants to be, Lieutenant Kowalski at your service."

"It's an improvement over our first meeting, I'm Marlene." She smiled it was nice to actually meet them, although she was really starting to see why everyone called them Penguins. In all honesty, she had thought everyone was over exaggerating the whole black and white uniform but, seeing that Kowalski was dressed the same as Private and Skipper showed how very true the statement had been. Although it was stretching it to say, all of them were blue-eyed with black hair. Rico's eyes were not quite blue, there was a fair amount of green mixed in and although Kowalski had a buzz cut, his hair looked be a dark brown.

"Hola Marlene, una flor de cactus no se compara con su belleza." Rico purred taking her hand just as Kowalski broke off the handshake, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles and then chuckled at the blush Marlene could feel blossoming across her face. If she had any weaknesses, they were sweets and well-built men who spoke Spanish.

"And there's the charm. I figure from your increased heart rate and blush you don't need a translation?"

"N-no, I actually traveled to Spain for a class my last year in college and learned the language fairly quickly, although I've never heard it spoken so fluently outside of Spain."

"Well, it is Rico's first language, although he's actually from Costa Rica." Kowalski explained as Rico returned to plating the sushi, having to swat Private's hand away every few seconds.

"Wow, how does someone from Costa Rica end up in New York?"

"I'm afraid that's a very long, complicated, and classified story." "Better life." Rico and Kowalski spoke at the same time causing Marlene to raise an eyebrow. It seemed like the two had known each other for quite some time, especially as Kowalski cast Rico a warning glare to which the man simply rolled his eyes.

"I hope you boys are behaving like proper gentlemen, after all Team Building Week can always be rescheduled to this week." Skipper's voice cut through the air and the three snapped to attention.

"Like we would be anything but." Marlene had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as Private broke out into a fit a giggles.

"Well Marlene, have they been on their best behavior?" As Skipper approached them she noticed the tired but pleased expression on his face and the twinkle of humor in his sapphire blue eyes. For a second Marlene forgot how to breathe, because Skipper was a rather attractive man, a bit short, but still quite handsome. Certainly, something she hadn't noticed before.

"They certainly have, not even one peep about classified information and I've been trying my best to get answers." She winked at the man who smirked in return.

"I like you, if you don't turn out to be a spy for Dr. Blowhole you might be worth keeping around."

"I'm sorry, was that supposed to be a complement?"

"Of course, what else would you call it?" Marlene couldn't even find a response, her mouth open in shock and anger. She shook her head and closed her mouth; there was no way she was going to start something with a man who had combat training. So what if Skipper was an ass? The other three seemed perfectly nice, even if she was still a tad hesitant about Rico. "How's the sushi?"

"Plated and ready to serve, Skippa."

"Go ahead and dig in, I'll get this salmon on the grill."

Everything was perfect, Marlene couldn't remember the last time she had a meal as good as that one and she was even more surprised by how normal the Penguins were. Over dinner, she had learned that Kowalski had actually graduated high school at 14 and college by the time he was 16 due to taking dual credit courses his last two years of high school. When asked about joining the military he explained it was half his father using the guilt card and being recruited for intelligence after writing one too many papers about the capabilities of nanobots and taking down national security. How Skipper did not feel that should be classified information went beyond her, because it was unquestionably something you wouldn't want going around.

Out of the four, it seemed Skipper had the most normal upbringing since both Rico's and Private's files were classified. It certainly hadn't gone unnoticed that Skipper took pride in his family's military legacy, which caused her to become curious about if any of them had family or significant others. Watching them interact, it didn't seem like it and she felt bad about judging them so quickly for what was the 100th time that evening.

"All of this has been lovely, but I should get going, I have work tomorrow." She stood pushing her chair in.

"Boys, clean up, I'll see our guest out." Skipper surprised her by standing also and waiting patiently for her to say her good-byes to the other three. As they reached, the front door Skipper broke the silence, "I had my doubts about inviting you over Marlene, if Private hadn't batted his baby-blues and used the guilt card on me, and well you'd probably be having dinner in your apartment alone. But I'm really glad you came, I haven't seen my men so thrilled in a long time."

"You don't get much company I take it?"

"No, it's too dangerous and most people after they run screaming from us we don't see them again. There were actually three others in your apartment before you and they left after they saw the aftermath of a mission, though we never realized they saw us." Skipper waved a hand as if dismissing a thought. "Anyway, you're welcome to our HQ anytime Marlene. The front door is always open and I mean that literally."

"Thanks, Skipper, maybe you're not as much of an ass as I believed." The man only laughed in returned and Marlene took that was a good sign. After wishing him a goodnight, she made her way across the street lost in thought. Although they had been anything but nice and they came across as normal, there was still something unsettling about the Penguins. There was no way to know who they really were or what they really did, because even being military didn't cover how they ended up in a New York apartment running international covert operations, but Marlene was sure as hell she would find out just what was really going on.


	3. Operation: Party Rock

_"Okay, you guys are cute. Listen. The truth is I'm... I'm just, well, a little scared." -Marlene "Otter Gone Wild"_

Marlene took full advantage of Skipper's open door offer when she could; she had hoped she would drop in on a classified conversation or something to help her quest in figuring out the Penguins. Unfortunately, it had only lead to a few awkward afternoons with Private watching the Lunacorns and one instance, which could only be called the breakfast from hell. (Because who seriously puts a fish in their coffee?) Still three weeks and there hadn't been anything worth note. Except the one time she hadn't seen anyone come or go from the apartment but the lights were still on at two in the morning and in her concern had found Rico and Kowalski fast asleep on the couch, which was surrounded by drawings and notes, practically cuddling, while a Shirtless Ninja movie marathon continued to play on the television.

What a weird day that had been; nevertheless she'd been living on Park Avenue for just over a month and was ready to give up on learning the Penguin's secrets. In fact it might be better if she didn't know, even if she did find herself liking Skipper more with each visit, there were still too many secrets. A sudden chirp of her cellphone caused her to jump and she nearly sliced her finger.

"Whatever this is it better be important." It had been a rather long had a work, the gallery was getting ready for a show in two weeks and the artist hadn't made any progress in his work. All she wanted was to chop up lettuce for a fresh salad and curl up on the couch to watch Arrested Development.

We need your help, be at HQ in 10 minutes. –Skipper

A frustrated sigh escaped her as she read the message; this wasn't how she wanted to spend her Friday night. She cleaned up the kitchen and made her way to the Penguins' apartment. Upon walking into the living room she was surprised to see Maurice and Julian at the table with Skipper and Private.

"Ah, glad you got my message, Marlene."

"Yeah, if this just another burping contest, just let me know now so I can leave."

"Actually we needed another pair of eyes for our mission tonight." Marlene began to laugh, there was no way they wanted her for a mission, it had to be a joke.

"How dare you laugh! My life is on the line!" Julian hissed and it was then she took in the others grim faces and froze eyes wide.

"You're serious."

"As serious as a starving leopard seal, now we're trusting you with highly classified information, you wanted to know what we were and now you will." Skipper gestured for her to sit down and once she did he began to speak. "On paper we're Marines, but we're actually part of a highly trained and highly secret government organization known as CENTRAAL that makes the CIA look like TSA. I can't even begin to tell you half of the things we know or do.

"We recently came across information regarding Prince Julian, an old friend of the family in here and plans on having him killed. If Julian is killed on American soil, it will spark an international incident with Madagascar, something that must be prevented at all cost. The man we're looking for is Clemson and we believe he'll try to take out Julian tonight at The Groove. Here's a picture, any questions?" Marlene looked at the photo taking only in the red hair and brilliant blue eyes; she was still trying to wrap her mind around what Skipper had said.

"What exactly is your plan?" She found herself saying, suddenly excited about the idea of playing super spy.

"Kowalski will monitor the cameras from security, Rico is playing DJ allowing full coverage of the dance floor, Maurice and Private will be bartending, and you and I will be part of Julian's entourage. This means I'll be picking up at 7." Skipper winked at Marlene and she felt her face heat up, but before she could be embarrassed further the door opened and Kowalski and Rico walked in the room filling with uncomfortable tension.

"Did something happen?" Private asked looking at the two strangely, but Kowalski answered a light blush dusting his features.

"No! Everything went fine, the earpieces are clear no matter how loud the music gets or how loud others talk."

"Excellent men, Operation: Endangered Groove is a go."

It was a 6:45 and Marlene was still unsure if she should wear her hair up or down and if her strapless blue dress was too much. A knock on the door surprised her; although it shouldn't have, Skipper seemed like an early bird. Ha, penguins are birds, early bird. She thought before sweeping her hair in to a low side bun before running to the door.

"Hey, Skipper, wow, you look… good." Her mouth went dry upon seeing the shorter man in black straight leg jeans, his black dress shirt half untucked with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, an electric blue tie just a few shades lighter than her dress added just enough color.

"You don't look too bad yourself, in fact you look quite stunning, you're just missing one thing." Skipper pulled a large white lily from behind his back, "I had Kowalski and Rico come up with a way to disguise your earpiece since we didn't have anything but older bulky models." He reached up and slipped it in place. "You'll notice it working when we get to the club."

"Right, just give me a minute to grab my shoes." They left with five minutes to spare and walked arms linked in comfortable silence. Which Marlene couldn't help but think back to that crazy movie her one friend had made her watch, Pulp Fiction had been the title if she remembered right.

"Stay close." Skipper cut the line of people leading to the club's entrance where Bada and Bing took one look and opened the doors for them. Instantly Marlene wondered why she hadn't gone to Julian's club before, bright lights and fantastic music, although she wondered if part of that was because Rico was being DJ tonight. Still it was an electric atmosphere and she couldn't get enough of.

"This place is amazing!" she nearly screamed in excitement gripping Skipper's arm tightly, he only chuckled in return.

"It's okay, just not my scene, now Rico on the other hand, just take a look at him." A laugh escaped her as Skipper lead to over to the bar where they could get a clearer look at the man. Rico's mohawk was solid neon green, piercings through his lips, nose, and eyebrow clear as day, and he also seemed to be wearing thick eyeliner. What really caused her to lose it was the black mesh tank and lime green zebra print skinny jeans he was wearing. And was that a tattoo on his left hip?

"I'm surprised that he wears it so well, who are the three guys with him?"

"Mike, Duane, and Eddie, also known as the Bros. Rico saved their asses one night and they've been friends ever since. They're here to cover for Rico incase anything goes wrong."

"Will something go wrong?"

"You never know. Maurice, where's Julian?"

"On his throne as always." The man replied wiping down the bar where someone had spilled his or her drink. "Private should be coming back, I had him clear the room first."

"We should make our way to his royal highness anyway, just in case Clemson sneaks past." Marlene was starting to feel nervous, this was the real deal, she was actually on a mission with secret agents. Skipper led her to past Rico to where a staircase was hidden by thick purple curtains. It was only then she saw the wrap around balcony, as if the entire second floor had been cut out of the building.

They passed Private on their way up, Skipper and the younger man having a silent conversation in just one glance, which was a bit off-putting, and any courage she had worked up to start a conversation with the Captain disappeared. After several tense moments they reached the Throne Room where she waited outside for Skipper to finish talking to Julian. It gave her time to observe the dance floor below, no signs of any devilishly handsome redheaded assassins.

"I know this probably isn't how you wanted to spend your Friday night, but I'm glad you decided to help." Skipper's smooth voice startled her; she hadn't even heard the door open.

"Actually, I've been hoping for a good dose of excitement ever since I came here, this certainly covers it."

"Here I thought California would have plenty of that."

"Northern California is nothing but state parks, sure it's pretty, but you get tired of staring at trees all day. What about you? Was your life always this exciting?"

"That's classified."

"I bet you know everything about me, but I still hardly know anything about you. Other than you come from a military family. That's hardly fair in my opinion." Marlene smirked leaning her hip against the railing. "Though I think there's a solution to that if you're game."

"And just what is this solution of yours?"

"Twenty Questions, the getting to know you version of course, I'll ask you a question and then you get to ask me a question. But you can't answer classified to more than 5 questions."

"Alright, I'll play, ladies first."

"If you hadn't gone military what would you be doing?"

"Easy, fisherman up in Alaska, I actually did it one summer with my granddad before I went to basics. I fell in love with it; the sea has always called to me, I guess." He joined her against the railing, never once meeting her eyes but the tone in his voice told her he wasn't lying. This was Skipper almost completely unguarded. "So why art?"

"I actually hated art in high school; I got sucked in to the image of the popular group and lost who I was. It took me a while to realize that it didn't matter anymore, but by then it was too late to just go back to how I was. Anyway, I had a few fine art credits to fill so I took a few painting classes, found myself, and fell in love with the power art had." Soon enough they lost track of how many questions had been asked and Marlene was seeing a completely different side of Skipper that she had suspected had been there all along.

"I have to ask you, but Kowalski and Rico, is there anything there, like romantically?" She had been worried Skipper hadn't heard her question due to her gasps for air since he had her laughing only seconds ago. However to her surprise, he was the one now laughing loud enough that she nearly missed the song changing to Radioactive by Imagine Dragons in the middle of Party Rock.

**"MAN DOWN!"**

Skipper sobered instantly, it was like flicking a switch. He finger to his earpiece and began to bark orders, she looked over the edge to see that Rico had disappeared and one of the Bros had taken his place while Private was slipping out of the bar.

"Marlene, I need you to stay with Julian, there's a closet in the far left corner, grab him and don't come out until I come and get you."

"What's going on?"

"Clemson's here, but he came in the back way, must have picked the lock. The only way he can get to Julian is to come up the stairs, but I plan on stopping him before he even makes it to the dance floor." She nodded swallowing her fear and charged in to Julian's throne room where the young man was lazily flipping through a style magazine.

"What is going on?"

"Clemson's here, we need to hide." That seemed to be the best response since before she knew it Julian had her sandwiched between the wall of the closet and himself.

"We're safe right? The Penguins have everything covered, yes?" She could feel him trembling with fear, not much different from herself as her heart thundered in her chest hard.

 **"KOWALSKI AND RICO ARE BOTH DOWN. NO SIGN OF CLEMSON."**  Private's voice was clear in her ear and she began to panic, breath coming in sort gasps. She pressed her hand to the earpiece hoping that she would be able to hear more, but there was only static.

"Alright Julian, we just have to be really quiet, okay? Not one word."

"Okay." They waited in the darkness, barely breathing in fear that Clemson really had gotten past Skipper and Private.

"You know Julian, this is just sad. Did you really think I wouldn't find a way in that didn't tip off the rest of your jarhead bodyguards? Though it's a shame I had to waste a bullet on the one." A smooth voice purred and Marlene felt her heart in her throat. "Just make this easy on yourself; I know exactly where you're hiding anyway."

"Thought you could pull a fast one on us, didn't you?" Skipper's sharp voice followed a large bang.

"Drop your weapons, Clemson. You're under arrest by the authority of CENTRAAL." Private had joined them by the sound of it. Marlene had never thought the younger man could sound so intimidating.

"Just let me kill Julian and you'll never see me again. There's no need for this arrest business." The sound of a gun being fired caused her and Julian to jump.

"That was just a warning shot, next time I won't miss."

"You know, this could actually be a good deal for you, any cut of what I'd make finishing this job would certainly reward you handsomely. Unless you're not looking for money, I have plenty of information that might interest you."

"Forget it, just put your gun down and put your hands where I can see them." There were several soft thumps and Marlene could only assume that Clemson was surrendering.

"Fine, go ahead and arrest me, CENTRAAL is nothing but a bunch of animals. You don't want an international incident, but you're about to cause one. I hope you can live with the blood that's about to be on your hands on the hands of your entire team. I'm not alone in this, I'd be a fool to try, I'm just the messenger. wanted me to tell you that the game has just begun and this time you'll lose more than you can possibly imagine."

"Bag this clown, Private; our back-up should be here any minute." The closet door opened to reveal a very tired and irritated Skipper. Julian flung himself at Skipper's legs and began to cry to with what Marlene could only assume was gratitude.

"Wait outside Ring-tail; you can thank me when you get a hold of yourself." After Julian left Skipper extended his hand and help Marlene to her feet. "I'm sorry you had to be part of this."

"No, I'm fine a little shaken, but fine." She had barely taken three steps before she noticed blood on Skipper's hands and tie. One look at his face and she felt light-headed, there was a dark bruise forming on his jaw as well as a small trickle of blood coming from his split lip. "On second thought, maybe I'm not okay." She swayed and suddenly her world went black.


	4. Epilogue: The New Normal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the epilogue, I just want to thank everyone real quick for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

"Come on in Marlene the water's perfect!" Private shouted from the deeper end of the pool before turning his attention to Kowalski. "Oy, you too K'walski!"

"Just a minute I need to finish this equati-AHN!" - _Splash!_ \- Marlene couldn't up laugh as Rico swept the genius up bridal style and threw him in the pool. It had been a week since their mission at Julian's club and while she had only fainted and earned a slight concussion, Rico was stuck waiting another week for his stitches to be removed.

"I'll get you back Rico! You might have the brawn, but I have the brains." Kowalski sputtered before slashing some water on to the younger man's feet. Which earned him a volleyball to the back of the head the second he turned around and Marlene seriously had to figure how Rico could just pull things out of thin air.

"Oh, volleyball! Fantastic idea Rico." She looked over at the bar where Skipper was sitting and decided to join him. The mission had certainly left unfinished business between them and Marlene wanted to know just where it would go.

"I know it wasn't a real date, but I feel like you owe me a real date for putting me through that." He glanced at her over his sunglasses, sapphire eyes sparkling, and a smirk on his lips.

"I'll pick you up Friday at 6, dinner and movie sound fair?"

"Sounds perfect, actually. Also I just want to thank you, I needed some excitement in my life and while it wasn't the type of excitement I was looking for, I'm glad I found Park Avenue." She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to him cheek, trying not to giggle at the blush that found its way to Skipper's face.

"Let's show the boys how you really play volleyball." Typical Skipper, changing subject when things got a bit mushy, but she knew that he had a soft spot and it was better to go along with his tough guy act.

"I'll race you." So what if there was the occasional explosion from Rico and Kowalski testing weapons at 2 in the morning without Skipper's approval or that she knew all the words to the Lunacorn theme song. It wasn't the life she had imagined, but it was certainly better than anything she could imagine.


End file.
